


I want to be daylight in your eyes

by the_milky_way



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck doesn't like Valentine's Day, Canon Compliant, Eddie tries to convince him otherwise, Feelings, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Relationship Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Soft Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Soft Evan "Buck" Buckley, Soft Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29442693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_milky_way/pseuds/the_milky_way
Summary: Sure, he loves grand gestures here and there. Loves to do things for the people that are important to him. But he doesn’t need this certain set day once a year to express it.orValentine's Day doesn't do much for Buck. Eddie wants to give him a reason to like it more by actually showing him how he feels.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 202





	I want to be daylight in your eyes

**Author's Note:**

> It's set some time after the crossover but before 4x04.
> 
> Title is take from "Daylight In Your Eyes" by No Angels (which is 20 years old and randomly popped up on one of my playlists recently. No idea if anyone even knows this song.)

Valentine’s Day is a non-day for Buck. Usually is - safe for the one time Abby sort of talked him into celebrating it. The result is known and not one of his best memories. He gets why people want to celebrate it but at the same time thinks it’s sort of hypocritical. If you love someone, you tell them at any given time, always, no matter the day. There doesn’t have to be a special day for it, especially if it’s the only day you actually show your love or stand by it.

Sure, he loves grand gestures here and there. Loves to do things for the people that are important to him. But he doesn’t need this certain set day once a year to express it. He smiles at the card Christopher made him, because it’s cute and he appreciates it. But then he gets cards from him all the time anyway and this one just has a special theme. He blinks at the soft smile Eddie gives him when Buck says as much at the beginning of their shift. 

He tries to stay clear of all things Valentine’s-themed, of the talks about dates and presents and flowers. He even goes as far as to take over chores voluntarily only to get away from Chim being constantly on the phone with Maddie. It was cute the first hour or so but it got annoying really fast, especially when Chim insisted on using this ridiculous lovey-dovey speech Buck knows Maddie hates as much as he does. It’s a joke, set to rile them both up but Buck’s not in the mood, doesn’t want to take it with just a grin and a shrug. 

So he takes himself out of the situation, sends Chim a look that makes it clear he’s done with him and hides for most part of the shift. There are a few easy calls far in between so he actually manages to be productive and hide at the same time. The thing is, he knows he is hiding from something else as well. When he told Dr. Copeland about not being open about his feelings, it wasn’t just about feelings in general. He had and still has a very specific situation in mind. Being caught between all those romantic, love-drunk reminders of what is missing from his life doesn’t actually help either.

Buck’s busy sorting through the shelves of one of the storage rooms, enjoying the silence when Eddie finds him.

“You really hate this day, don’t you?”

Eddie’s voice doesn’t make him jump but it’s a close thing. His heart is pounding in his chest and he takes a deep breath before he turns towards his best friend, scowl set but slipping off the second he actually looks at Eddie. He is leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and one ankle tugged behind the other. He looks relaxed, like he’s been standing there for a while. Buck wonders for how long and how he has missed it.

“Well, conviction and bad experiences can do that to you. Lethal combination, if you asked me,” he answers, shrugs in a way he hopes comes off as nonchalant and not defensive. It’s the last thing he wants - to annoy Eddie and destroy the softness that seems to be wrapped around him these days.

It’s a recent thing, too. Eddie with his soft looks, these almost smiles Buck just catches glimpses of and which leave him wondering if they had been there at all. He’s not sure what it is but something is different about Eddie. Between them. It’s not bad per se but it leaves him floundering more often than not. Has him questioning his thoughts and feelings. Especially after Texas and TK’s sort of ill-timed comment. 

“Not sure I can do something about your convictions. But maybe I can help with the experience side of it?”

Eddie smiles again, soft and self-assured at the same time. And it throws Buck for a loop. This Eddie is new, in certain ways at least. Buck’s unsure how to deal with it all, how to grasp the meaning of it. So he turns towards Eddie some more and raises an eyebrow. He does want to know what Eddie means after all.

“I mean, I know you think people shouldn’t use just one single day a year to show their love. Which I get and agree with. But sometimes a special day can be used to celebrate a step towards something. Like, maybe a push someone needed.” 

Eddie looks flustered now, a reddish hue spreading over his cheeks and Buck blinks. Eddie looks a little unsteady there, as if he’s trying to figure out how to proceed, how to find the next metaphorical stone he can step on to reach his destination. Buck’s heart thuds heavily in his chest and he thinks he knows where this is going. At least he hopes he does.

“Is this where the experience part comes into play?”

“If you let me, then yeah. I’d like to give you a good one connected to this day. If only to help you be less annoyed and stressed out by it all,” Eddie smirks then, seemingly having found solid ground to navigate on, to push forward and take a step closer to Buck.

Buck can’t help but laugh at that. Because yes, Eddie knows him too well. He has been stressed out, annoyed even and it makes for a rather awkward atmosphere at work. He has tried to relax but with Chim on a warpath to prove that Valentine’s Day is the ultimate day for lovers it hasn’t been easy.

“So. What’s your plan then?”

Eddie shifts and for the first time Buck realizes that Eddie is hiding something behind his back. Suddenly, his hands are sweaty, his heart is racing even faster then and he doesn’t know where to look. This is unexpected in so many ways and he wants to curse Eddie for making him feel like this. Loves it at the same time, though. And he also just wants to take another step forward, grab the man and kiss him senseless. Like he has been wanting to do for ages now and never even dared to hope he might get a chance to one day. 

This feels closer to a chance then any of the looks and smiles have before. This might even turn into more than just a chance. And Buck doesn’t know how to deal with that.

So when Eddie shifts again and presents him with a single yellow lily Buck actually gasps a little and then laughs out loud. Because it’s not a red rose (thank god for that) and because he knows what a yellow lily means - thankfulness and desire for enjoyment. 

“What are you thankful for?” Buck asks while taking this one final step. He gently slides the flower from Eddie’s hand, not even trying to supress the smile that’s spreading over his lips. 

“You,” Eddie says, smirk still present but softer again. There’s relief in his eyes, like he thought Buck wouldn’t take the flower, wouldn’t want to play this little game with him. And if it had been anybody else, Buck is pretty sure he’d been gone by now.

“Very eloquent there, Diaz. Care to elaborate?”

“I’m just thankful for having you in my life. As cliche as it may sound it’s how I feel. And I know you don’t really want to hear it on this day but let me say it anyway. I promise I’ll repeat it on other days, too. If you want me to.”

They are standing so close, just the lily between them. Shelves, work, everything and everyone outside this room forgotten for now. If Eddie needed this day to give him a push, to take a step, Buck won’t be the one to stop him. Even if it is Valentine’s Day.

“Thank you. For the flower and for saying it. So, desire for enjoyment then?”

This time it’s Eddie who laughs. Skin around his eyes crinkling, little tzz-sound preceding the actual laugh. And again, Buck wonders what he has missed the last few weeks because Eddie looks incredibly soft and happy. But maybe this is recent, just happening now because of him. Maybe Eddie has worked his way up to this very moment with all the looks and smiles. 

“Would you hate me a lot if I said you again?”

“Hate is a strong word. But I’d think you looked a little too deep into the Valentine’s cliche-box there.”

“Alright then. I want to enjoy an evening with you, at your place, preferably sans Albert. And with Chris taken care of at home. Just us, some food, a drink or two and maybe a movie. Just a good experience, you know?”

It sounds nice - like something he’d actually really enjoy. Just one look into Eddie’s eyes, spark of hope almost visible and Buck’s holding up a finger, stalling anything Eddie would have added just now. 

He sends Albert a text that couldn’t be any clearer if he tried, telling him to spend the night elsewhere. It’s mean, sort of, considering what the world is like. But Chim and Maddie do have a spare room that is accessible without having to have contact with anybody. So Buck doesn’t feel too bad about it. Albert seems to be okay with it as well, judging from the thumbs-up emoji he sends as a reply.

“Done.”

It’s like someone switched the lights on in Eddie’s eyes then. Buck almost rolls his at his own thoughts. But Eddie does look brighter there, smiling like Buck just made his day. 

_Oh. Maybe he did._

This is more than Eddie trying to give Buck a good Valentine’s Day. Buck knew that. Knows that. He just didn’t expect it to be more than a first step. You know, spend the evening together and see where this goes. But they are already far beyond that, aren’t they?

This is Eddie taking a leap of faith and trying to make Buck feel better at the same time. It’s them in a shell because that’s what they do. Make each other feel better, support each other, be with each other. Be together. And apparently now they are acknowledging that certain something between them. Valentine’s Day as the push that was needed - how cliche but how fitting as well.

“My place. After shift. Just you and me.”

“It’s a date.”

“That it is.” Buck needs this to be crystal clear to both of them. The way Eddie snorts and then moves even closer, Buck thinks he got his point across. 

He only just manages to get the lily out of the way before Eddie presses first their chests and then their lips together. Soft as a kiss can be, affirming, settling, chasing away any doubts there might have been about his intentions. It doesn’t go further than this. Just a soft press, a peck and another before Eddie steps back again. He laughs when Buck tries to chase his lips, combs gentle fingers through longish curls and smiles when Buck sighs.

It’s simpler than he ever thought it would be - this shift between them. But it makes sense in so many ways that he doesn’t even try to question it. When Eddie steals another quick kiss before he slips out of the storage room Buck knows that this is real. For both of them.

And if he stands there for another few minutes, heart pounding and eyes glued to the yellow lily in his hands no one is there to judge him. No one sees the grin he can’t hold back or hears the only just suppressed whoop he lets out when he realizes that he’ll have Eddie all to himself tonight. 

On Valentine’s Day even. 

Maybe Eddie’s intention to give him better memories really is something to be reckoned with, it’s been working well so far.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wanted to write something completely different but this got away from me. I haven't written anything for Valentine's Day in years. I just had this image of Eddie with a lily in his hand on my mind and wanted to write it. Not sure this makes any sense at all but here you go...


End file.
